25.2.14

SV Werder

Football was not well thought of in 19th century Germany. It was considered to an un-German pastime - a decadent and morally damaging English 'disease'. The earliest clubs were generally associated with groups of students- the kind of young men who rejected convention and relished the shock factor of engaging in this scandalous game.

In 1899 a group of students in Bremen were presented with a football (a prize in a competition of some sort?). naturally, they set about forming a club, and in February 1899 SV Werder was born.

On September 10th that year they played their first match, a 1-0 win over neighbours Allgemeinen Bremer Sportclub von 1898. Both of these Bremen clubs were founder members of the DFB in 1900.

Tradition has it that SV Werder were the first German club to charge admission to spectators.

In 1920 SV Werder went on to adopt the name Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V.